Weakness
by Mishiko Shinsei
Summary: AU. SxYY. MokubaxNoah. A sequel to 'Moments aren't Moments.' Starts during 'Moments' Chapter 19. Rated for later content. Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, nor do I make any money from having my way them.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Drifting Apart**

"I know that look," Wolfram teases a starry-eyed Mokuba.

He and Yuuri had come by the mansion to help Mokuba unpack and get situated.

"What?" his raven-haired friend looks up from the stack of CD's that he's been holding for the past few minutes.

"I said 'I know that look.' You were thinking about how great it feels, weren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Mokuba frowns.

In response, the blonde sticks out his tongue. Mokuba wonders at the gesture until he recognizes the familiar clear ball at the top of the other's tongue ring.

"You…How long?" Mokuba gapes.

"Almost ten years," his friend smirks. "Where do you think Noah got the idea?"

An arrow of pure jealousy pierces Mokuba, surprising him. He swiftly turns away, hoping to hide the emotions sure to be obvious all over his face. He knows that Noah and Wolfram have been friends for over five years, but now he wonders if maybe they were more than that at one time.

And frankly, the thought terrifies him.

"Mokuba?" Wolfram prods, stunned by his friend's sudden change of mood.

"I'll be right back," the raven-haired man mumbles. "I'm a little thirsty."

The blonde nods at the other's back, deciding not to mention the bottle of water sitting on the dresser.

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The brief conversation with the blonde is still bothering Mokuba two days later and he's unsure of what to do about his unfounded jealousy. Following his normal routine when something is bugging him, he calls his beloved big brother to talk about it. His thought is to share with Seto the whole situation about Wolfram's tongue ring and his runaway feelings on the possible relationship between the blonde and Noah. As usual, after a quick greeting, he asks his brother how things are with him, only to be completely stunned by the response.

"He did what?" Mokuba yells into the phone.

"It's fine now, Mokuba," his brother soothes. "Yami rejected the idea completely. Actually, he'd planned to cut all ties with Mr. Crawford and move us into your old apartment."

"You're joking! My entire apartment could fit inside your loft! Where did he think he'd put his art supplies? He certainly wouldn't have been able to paint anything. Maybe he thought he could set the easel up in the bathroom!" Mokuba laughs.

"Not exactly my thoughts but close enough," Seto replies.

"You said its okay now? What happened?" Mokuba prods.

The short pause tells him that it's not really something his brother cares to repeat.

"I apologized to Mr. Crawford for destroying Yami's painting and he accepted it, that's all," his brother responds evenly.

Mokuba grits his teeth in anger. He understands just what kind of apology Seto would have felt obligated to make based on his casual dismissal of the act. Knowing that, his brother bowed down to that man for any reason infuriates him to no end! What an asshole! He shouldn't be involved with Seto and Yami's private lives anyway! If they have problems, it's up to them to handle whatever's wrong on their own!

He draws up short from his mental rant at that thought.

'Maybe that also means that it's up to me and Noah to handle whatever problems arise with us,' he surmises.

Nodding to himself, he decides that it would be wrong to bother Seto with this thing about Wolfram. Especially since his brother and Yami are handling such a huge crisis without anyone's help. If he believes so strongly about his relationship with Noah to move in with him, he should definitely be able to deal with something so seemingly minor on his own.

"Mokuba?" Seto's concerned voice intrudes on his ruminations.

"Sorry, Seto. I was just thinking of the look on that guy's face when you told him to mind his own business," he snickers. "Because I know you did!"

"Well…not in so many words, but I think I got my point across," his brother affirms.

"Uh huh! So what else is new with you? Have you solved a case that will save the universe yet?"

The running joke between them is that Seto is actually a superhero disguised as a lawyer who uses his superior brain and "law books of doom" to save the universe from "evil lawbreakers."

"No, not since I saw you a few days ago, Mokuba," his brother laughs lightly.

"Awww! The bad guys are gonna run amuck!" Mokuba teases.

Suddenly, he lets out a startled yip as Noah slides slim arms around his waist from behind.

"I'm home," Noah whispers sensually into his raven-haired lover's ear before pushing Mokuba down on the couch and straddling his legs.

"Mokuba, are you okay?" Seto's voice becomes very distant as Noah engulfs him in a fiery kiss.

"Mmm…Gotta go, Seto," he manages before dropping the phone to the floor.

Pulling the CEO further into his lap, Mokuba thinks that maybe he'll talk to Noah later about Wolfram and the tongue ring.

'Much, much later,' he concludes.

Flipping his aqua-haired lover onto his back, he eagerly begins divesting him of clothing and feasting on the other's nipples. But as soon as he starts kissing the CEO again and his tongue skates across the other's oral adornment, his mind immediately returns to his earlier dilemma and he abruptly pulls away.

"Mokuba?" Noah questions at his lover's aborted kiss.

His boyfriend doesn't respond. Instead, he nuzzles against Noah's neck before nipping a trail down the slim expanse and across the other's chest.

"Moku," his boyfriend moans as Mokuba latches again onto a pert nipple. From that point on they share a passionate love-making session distinguished by one oddity; Mokuba never kisses him again.

Noah doesn't mention the lack of kisses as they later bask in the after glow, nor does he say anything when it occurs several more times. It's not as though Mokuba doesn't kiss him at all, it's more that the kisses are always light and respectable; no tongue. Even when Noah attempts to deepen their kisses, his lover pulls back which completely baffles the 26-year old. After the first few times, he thinks about mentioning it to Mokuba, but what would he say?

'_How come you don't really kiss me anymore?'_

That sounds ridiculous even as a thought.

In the end, he decides to simply deal with Mokuba's strange behavior for the moment and hope the other will come to him when he's ready.

For Mokuba's part, he knows what he's doing and how it's affecting his lover, but he can't help himself. He understands that he'll have to deal with his unresolved feelings eventually and explain his behavior to Noah if he ever hopes for things to go back to normal, but…

Every time he thinks about Noah's tongue ring, his mind flashes back to Wolfram's tongue ring and he's bothered by the whole thing all over again.

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"Hey."

Noah looks up from the e-mails on his laptop to his oddly subdued lover standing in the doorway of his home office. He hasn't pressured his boyfriend at all for an explanation of his recent unusual behavior. Now, looking into the disquieted eyes of said lover, Noah's certain that he made the right decision to wait for Mokuba to approach him with whatever is troubling him.

"Hey yourself," he offers, leaning back in his chair.

After a few more minutes of Mokuba's contemplative stare, he gets up and wraps the other in a supportive embrace.

"So, are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or do you want to go back to staring a hole through my head?" he nuzzles into Mokuba's chest.

"It's stupid," the 19-year-old mumbles after a short pause.

"Tell me anyway," Noah soothes.

"Wolfram showed me his tongue ring," Mokuba replies quietly, sliding his arms around the other.

"And you want one?" the CEO ventures.

"Gods, no!" Mokuba scoffs.

"You were shocked that he had one?" he prods further.

"Yes, but that's not…Like I said, it's stupid," Mokuba sighs, pulling away.

"Stupid or not, it's obviously bothering you, so just tell me already," Noah concludes, leading Mokuba to sit beside him on the plush leather couch.

Once safely ensconced, Mokuba leans over to lay his head in Noah's lap; a position he usually adopts when they discuss something important. Grasping his lover's hand in his, he spits out the question nagging him.

"Were you and Wolf ever lovers?"

It's the pause that says it, even before Noah's quiet answer.

"Briefly; a month or two…a little before Yuuri joined the company.

Noah falls silent.

"What happened?" Mokuba presses.

You have to understand, my father was still alive then and Wolf offered both an escape and a rebellion against him. Not only did my father hate that I was gay, but to be messing around with a gaijin…" Noah laughs humorlessly.

"Gaijin?" Mokuba murmurs.

"Though he was born in Japan, Wolf's parents are American," Noah explains.

"Oh."

At Mokuba's ensuing silence, Noah guesses at what's bothering his love.

"I got the tongue ring a few years later," the CEO begins. "I admit that the idea came from Wolf, but my actual reason for the piercing was quite different, I assure you."

The revelation that his lover's prior relationship with the blonde had been brief and longer ago than he'd expected doesn't alleviate Mokuba's fears or quiet his jealousy in the least.

"Different, how?" he murmurs against a denim-clad thigh.

Before Noah can respond to him the office phone rings.

"One moment, Mokuba," Noah lifts the teen's head from his lap and stands to answer it.

At the CEO's subsequent snarl at whomever is on the other line, Mokuba realizes that they won't be finishing their conversation anytime soon and heads out of the room.

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A week after their initial conversation, Mokuba still hasn't followed up with Noah; not that his boyfriend has approached the subject either.

'Maybe it's something he doesn't want me to know about,' the 19-year old muses.

Mokuba had already disclosed everything about his past love life, such as it was, months ago; though it's not like he'd had much to share…

At that thought, Mokuba abruptly realizes that Noah is almost 7 years older than him. Of course their love life experiences would be vastly different. Hell, he's such a novice that he had only had sex four times before meeting Noah! And that had been with a woman!

'Noah's obviously had more lovers than just Wolfram. Maybe he's even slept with Yuuri too!' his mind races in circles.

"Maybe I'm not even the first person he's approached here at work," he mumbles to himself. Glancing around the floor, his eyes landing on Hei Mokoto from finance, a man he'd eyed a moment or two himself.

Closing his eyes momentarily in calm contemplation, he allows his mind to run through thoughts of other men Noah may have approached or spent time with at the company.

'Maybe Mr. Sato's business sense isn't the only thing keeping him around,' he supposes.

At that random speculation, he shakes his head in denial. Now, he's being ridiculous. Noah isn't a man who would run his company in such a manner.

"Watanabe!" his boss's voice cuts through his brooding.

"Sorry, sir," he looks up alertly. "How may I be of service?

"Are you alright, Watanabe? It's not like you to space out," the Marketing Director frowns at his assistant.

"I do have a slight headache," he confesses, which is true. His constant worrying has raised his tension level significantly. "But it's nothing that I can't handle. What do you need me to do?"

"Always the professional," Mr. Sato smiles. "I think I'll give you a raise to be sure that no other department snatches you up."

"Sir?" Mokuba starts incredulously.

"Come into my office, Watanabe. I have a huge project due for Mr. Kaiba and we need to get started right away."

"Yes, sir!" Mokuba practically salutes. Grabbing his notepad, he follows his boss, all thoughts of personal problems swiftly forgotten for the moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Chapter 2 – After One Kiss**

It's at times like this that Mokuba almost wishes he'd taken that other job offer at the Japanese branch of Schroeder Corp. Like Noah said, Mr. Sato has a brilliant business mind, but his ability to translate that into language that others can understand and present in a meeting format, is sorely lacking.

Mokuba looks up from his umpteenth draft of the 45 page presentation to see his CEO and lover heading toward him. More than anything he wants to melt into the other's embrace and head home, but that's not going to happen tonight. Again.

Not that going home promises to be all that great since he and Noah never finished talking about Wolfram and the tongue ring and things are still slightly awkward between them. He knows that their situation is mostly his fault because he's been so caught up in worrying about his lover's past.

'_It's completely crazy that I've become so obsessed about Wolfram and that stupid tongue ring!'_ he tells himself.

"Working late again, Mokuba?" Noah smiles worriedly at him, breaking the recurring loop of his thoughts.

Too tired and preoccupied to speak, Mokuba simply nods before turning back to his screen.

After a quick look around, Noah leans over and places a light kiss on his lover's lips.

"I'll see you tonight then," he whispers, before heading back to his personal elevator.

Mokuba exhales in irritation behind him, thinking again that he should have picked Schroeder Corp.

'_Nah, then I wouldn't have met, Noah,' _he smiles to himself, happy that he's with the CEO, despite their current difficulties.

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Leaning againgst the doorframe of Yami's studio, Seto watches his love gleefully working the clay on his wheel, shaking his head at how messy Yami is getting while immersed in his latest obsession. Glancing in the corner beside the busy artist, he notes the growing set of items that are ready to be fired; enough to completely fill up the medium-sized kiln built into a far corner.

'_At least he's happy,'_ the brunet muses.

And Yami has been deliriously happy since they moved into their new home. Seto had worried that the loss of his mentor would torment his artist-love and stifle his art, but the opposite seems to have happened.

Apparently, Yami had been so focused on making sure that his patron was satisfied with his work that he'd mentally shackled himself, not wanting to do anything outside of what he thought Mr. Crawford would like. And now that the self-imposed barrier has been lifted, his creativity has flourished

Seto gazes in amazement at the various other works of art scattered about the large studio. Even knowing his love's ability, he's still a bit shocked at the numerous creations Yami has put forth in the scant two weeks they've lived there. It also worries him somewhat as he knows that there have been days where Yami hasn't slept at all. In fact, part of his reason for coming up to the studio tonight is to drag his obsessed lover to bed, as the other has been up for at least the past 36 hours.

"Yami, Mokuba wants to throw us a housewarming party." he tosses to his grinning love. "What do you think?"

"Hmm? Whatever you think is best, Seto," the engrossed artist replies distractedly.

Seto waits until Yami stops the clay wheel's spin before swiftly crossing the room and scooping his messy love up into his arms.

"Hey! Seto! I'm not done with that piece yet!" he protests.

"Yes you are," the brunet replies calmly as he carries Yami down to their shower and stands him up in the stall.

"But Seto…." He whines as his love sheds his clothes and steps in beside him.

"No buts! You need a shower and you need sleep!" he admonishes, turning the water to the temperature they like.

After stripping his lover and scrubbing the both of them clean, Seto presses Yami into the shower wall with a mind-blowing kiss, his hands groping suggestively at Yami's ass.

Panting heavily when Seto finally lets him up for air, Yami snickers, "I thought you said that I needed to sleep?"

"You do," Seto mumbles as he lightly nips at Yami's neck. "But this is what I need."

Submitting to his lover's ministrations with a smile, Yami spreads his legs to welcome Seto's slick fingers.

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Noah balls up the latest draft of his speech for the Board of Directors and tosses it into the overflowing pile in his trash bin.

Though it's been almost three weeks since Mokuba brought up his and Wolfram's relationship, they haven't gotten back to the discussion yet. Noah worries that letting it fester will only cause more trouble than it already has, but he's not sure if he should be the one to bring it back up.

'_Maybe I should just let it go. After all, Mokuba hasn't mentioned it again, so maybe he doesn't want to talk about it either. But is that a good thing?'_ he broods.

And lately, his lover's been consumed by a project for Takeshi, which is inadvertently his fault since he's the one who assigned it to the Marketing Director. So this wouldn't be a good time for him to get distracted by personal matters. Still, Mokuba had time before that to bring the subject up. So why didn't he?

"Maybe he's already drawn a conclusion about the whole situation and that's why he's become even more standoffish," Noah murmurs, recalling that in addition to his continued offering of restrained kisses, his lover has started to draw back emotionally as well. He'd originally attributed the unusual behavior to work, but now that he's had time to think about it…

"I guess all I can do is wait for Mokuba to come back to me about it. But if he takes too much longer, I'll have to bring it up myself," he resolves.

He can't help but shudder at that thought. Frankly, he doesn't want to talk about it at all! Once Mokuba knows the whole truth about him and Wolfram and why he got the tongue ring in the first place, it can only lead to more problems between them, which he really wants to avoid. Resigned to his earlier decision, he reaches for another sheet of paper to start drafting his speech.

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Yuuri Shibuya has lived with Wolfram von Bielefelt for a while.

He's been in love with the sometimes volatile blonde for even longer than that – since their second year of high school, actually – though he didn't confess until after he'd joined Wolfram at Kaiba Corp. and they'd been going out for almost a year

So, he's well aware of Wolfram's moods and expressions. And his love's expressions have been saying that he's worried seriously about something for the last few weeks.

While Yuuri has no qualms with butting into Noah's life, he usually gives his lover space to work out his issues; especially since the blonde tends to figure his way out of whatever situation it is fairly quickly.

But every now and then something snags the taller man and he gets mired in it, causing Yuuri to jump in and 'rescue him.'

'_Like now,'_ he nods to himself as he watches Wolfram read the same page of his novel for the forth time.

Snatching the book from the other's hands, he casually tosses it over his shoulder and across the room.

"I was reading that," the blonde snaps at his dark-haired love.

"No, you were pretending to read it," Yuuri yawns and stretches. "So spill. What's eating you?"

"Nothing! I just want to read my book in peace," Wolfram snips, standing to retrieve said book

Yuuri pulls him into his lap by his shirt tails and wraps him in his arms.

"Cut it out," the Finance Manager squirms. "I'm not in the mood."

"Now I _know_ something's really wrong with you," Yuuri quips. "You're always 'in the mood.' What's going on? You've been moping around here for weeks."

With a sigh, he snuggles deeper into Yuuri's embrace.

"I told Mokuba about the tongue ring," Wolfram confesses.

"You told Mokuba _what_ about the tongue ring?" Yuuri prods.

"That Noah got the idea from me."

"And?"

"And I think it upset him," he nuzzles into Yuuri's chest.

"Hmm. So you're worried that Mokuba's figured out that you and Noah used to be butt-buddies."

Wolfram sits up in shock. "How did you…?"

"You mean other than Noah confessing all in a drunken stupor one night? Seriously, I've known since the beginning. I've been stalking you since high school, remember?"

"Ah, that's true," his lover accepts, nuzzling back into Yuuri's chest. Yuuri had confessed that to him along with his love; he'd found it rather endearing.

"Have you talked to Mokuba about it?" Yuuri presses further

"Of course not!" the blonde scoffs.

"What about Noah?"

"I thought it best if I stay out of it and let them handle the situation on their own," Wolfram sighs.

"Because they're oh so good at that," Yuuri replies sarcastically.

Wolfram sits up, brows furrowed.

"We shouldn't bail them out, Yuu. They have to learn to make it on their own."

"I know, I know. But I just can't sit back and watch either of them in pain! They're both like my little brothers and I worry about them," Yuuri admits.

"Little brothers, huh?" Wolfram snickers. "Maybe you need to explain to them that brothers aren't supposed to be doing the kind of things they do together."

"You perv!" Yuuri snickers, sliding a hand up Wolfram's shirt to tweak a nipple.

"Who's the perv, now?" Wolfram gasps.

"Heh. But I'm not your brother," Yuuri grins as Wolfram straddles his legs.

"Thank Kami for that," the taller man whispers, sliding his arms around Yuuri's neck and opening his mouth to the shorter man's dominating kiss.

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Seto wakes with a start from an unsettling dream to find himself alone in bed.

"Yami?" he calls shakily, turning away from the other's obviously untouched side of the bed toward the bathroom.

At the site of the open door and its answering darkness, a stark panic overcomes him.

Sitting up quickly, he turns on the bed table lamp, his frantic gaze scanning the room for any sign of Yami's presence. Finding none, he practically leaps from the bed. Clad in nothing but his worried frown, he hastily exits the bedroom, his still groggy mind desperately trying to find a reason for his lover's absence.

He checks the studio first, stumbling up the stairs to find it as empty and deserted as the bedroom. His mad scramble then takes him down to the first floor to check the living room and dining room, finding both empty. Staggering dejectedly into the kitchen to splash water on his face as he tries to calm down, he is brought up short by a handwritten note on the refrigerator.

"_Set clock for 4. Flight at 6,"_ the innocuous note reminds in Yami's familiar scrawl.

As his mind clears from its panicked haze, he remembers Yami writing the note two days ago to make sure that he was on time for his fight to Tokyo yesterday morning.

Clenching his jaw, Seto silently admonishes himself for his loss of control.

This is Yami's first trip of many. Is he going to think that his lover has abandoned him every time?


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Chapter 3 – No More To Give**

"In conclusion…"

Noah only halfway pays attention as his Director of Marketing and Mokuba's boss, Takeshi Sato, concludes his presentation to the board. All he can think about is finishing his part and getting home to Mokuba.

It's been a month since their initial conversation about Wolfram and Mokuba still hasn't said anything more about it. That in itself isn't the issue, though.

Since that first day when his boyfriend had not offered any tongue kisses while they made love, Mokuba's odd behavior has started to bleed into other areas of their life. The younger man has practically stopped kissing him altogether, only allowing light pecks to unusually stiff lips or against hastily turned cheeks. Noah has kept his comments to himself, expecting that his normally forthright boyfriend would eventually explain the odd behavior.

With that thought, he suddenly realizes that he's been deluding himself all along; Mokuba and forthright have always been mutually exclusive when it comes to emotional matters.

'_That's why this whole thing has completely consumed him,_' he muses_. 'I'll probably have to bring this up for a resolution myself, otherwise…'_

He swallows thickly at the avoided thought; he can't imagine his life without Mokuba in it.

"Mr. Kaiba," Takeshi coughs discretely beside him.

"Yes, well, thank you for that in-depth presentation, Mr. Sato," he smiles coolly, sliding easily into 'CEO mode.' The quicker he gets this done, the quicker he can get home.

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"Finally!" Mokuba practically tackles Noah as he comes in the door. "You were supposed to be home two hours ago!" he scolds.

Dragging the stunned older man to their bedroom, Mokuba proceeds to practically rip off Noah's clothes and shove him into the shower.

"You've got 15 minutes to be ready or I'm leaving you here!" Mokuba yells. "I can't believe I'm gonna be late to the party I set up! Don't think I won't tell them that it's all your fault either!"

It takes Noah a moment to figure out what Mokuba is talking about, and then it hits him…

"Yami and Seto's housewarming," he mumbles to himself. He'd completely forgotten about it.

He's ready to go in 14 minutes. He doesn't want to add anything else to their problems with everything that's going on between him and Mokuba right now.

Noah's mood at the housewarming doesn't improve as Mokuba seems to be avoiding him. Still, after he throws on his CEO smile and business man schmooze; he fools most of the attendees, and maybe even himself a little. By the second hour and the fourth strong cocktail, Noah's certain that he's having a grand old time.

"Don't mind if I do," Yuuri grins, slipping Noah's sixth drink of the night from his hand.

"Hey, slumlord!" Wolfram teases. "Have you seen what Yami's done to the studio? C'mon! Lemme show you!"

He drags his unresisting friend up the stairs, before turning concerned eyes to Noah's preoccupied and rather tipsy ones.

"Calm down, Noe," he soothes.

"Calm down?" the aqua-haired man scoffs in a loud whisper. "How can I calm down? He's barely touched me at all in weeks and now he's completely avoiding me in public! How the hell can I calm down?"

"Well you can't lose it here! Do you think it's going to improve things if you ruin the party by getting blind, stinking drunk?" Wolfram admonishes.

"Could it get any worse? He obviously hates me," the distraught CEO slurs, haphazardly sitting on the stairs.

"This is why you shouldn't be drinking," Wolfram frowns at him. "It's obviously killed some brain cells."

"Fuck you," Noah slumps against the wall, slowly realizing that his decision to drink much more than he ate may not have been a good one.

"C'mon, slumlord," Wolfram sighs. "Let's get you home."

He helps Noah stumble up to the freight elevator and takes him out the side entrance to the CEO's limo. Once inside, he calls Yuuri's cell to let him know that he's taking their friend home.

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Mokuba enters the mansion in an apprehensive mood.

"_Hey, Mo! Wolf took Noe home 'cause he wasn't feeling well,"_ Yuuri had informed him a few hours earlier.

When Yuuri told him about the blonde and Noah leaving together, his first thought wasn't that they'd left because Noah was sick. He'd seen how many drinks the CEO had consumed. He knew that it was well below Noah's normal ability to handle. So when he found out about their early departure…

Shaking his head as if to clear the jumble inside, he tries to reassure himself. After all anyone with half a brain knows that Wolfram belongs completely to Yuuri.

"And Noah belongs to me," he whispers, hoping to banish the images and thoughts to the contrary plaguing his mind.

Heading toward the bedroom, he notices a single light on in the room, which calms him somewhat. His lover always insists on leaving one of the bedside lamps on during the night; says it helps him sleep better. It took Mokuba a few weeks to adjust to it when he moved in, but now he needs the light to sleep as well.

'_I wonder if Wolfram knows about that particular habit,'_ he muses, his mind once again providing him with images of what he could find in the next few steps.

Stepping into the doorway, Mokuba swallows a startled yelp.

Shock and rage, followed by a forced calm, sweep through the raven-haired man in a matter of moments. There, leaning against the headboard asleep, is the one person he'd assured himself that he wouldn't see; Wolfram. Beside him, Noah is half buried beneath the covers of their bed, also asleep.

Taking in the sight of Noah's bare torso and Wofram's close proximity to his boyfriend, Mokuba is tempted to throw the blonde out of their bedroom on his head. The only thing that stops him is the fact that the lightly snoring blonde is still fully clothed.

Storming over to the unwanted visitor, Mokuba roughly shakes Wolfram awake, banking his anger as the man yawns and stretches.

"What are you doing here?" Mokuba demands in a low tone, so as not to wake his lover.

Caught off guard by the raven-haired teen's manner, Wolfram blinks at him in surprise before stammering a bewildered, "What?"

"I asked what you were doing here," Mokuba quietly snarls.

Wolfram frowns at the other's demeanor, his sleep-fogged mind not fully grasping why Mokuba would be so angry with him. He opts not to get upset until he knows what's going on.

"Didn't Yuuri tell you that I brought Noe home?" he poses quietly as he stands up and stretches once more.

"That doesn't explain why you're still here or why you were sleeping in our bed," Mokuba responds coolly.

Opening his mouth to rebut Mokuba's accusatory words, Wolfram decides that it's probably best not to prolong this antagonistic encounter. Glancing at his friend sleeping peacefully, he remembers their talk from earlier that night.

"_Fuck, Wolf,"_ Noah had slurred as he chucked his clothes off hastily. _"I'm gonna lose him. I know I am. I don't even know what's wrong! I'd fix it if I knew what was wrong. Fuck! If he's like this about just the tongue ring…"_

His friend had trailed off and crawled under the covers.

"_You're not going to lose him, Noe,"_ Wolfram had assured. When he'd received no response after a few minutes, he'd figured that Noah had passed out. After picking up his best friend's clothes off the floor, the blonde had tossed them into the hamper near the bathroom. He'd then started to leave when the other called out to him.

"_Wolf…"_ the quiet voice had entreated. _"Can you stay 'til I fall asleep? I-I'm not used to sleeping alone."_

"_Sure,"_ he'd smiled and settled on the bed, leaning on the headboard. Despite his best efforts, he'd fallen asleep a few minutes after Noah.

"Maybe I'd better go." The taller man murmurs, turning away from the sprawled CEO.

"Maybe you should," Mokuba retorts.

Trying to ignore the feelings of hurt and betrayal from someone he considers a friend, Wolfrom leaves.

Mokuba stares after the retreating blonde, his eyes fixed on the bedroom doorway many minutes later.

What is he doing? Is he trying to chase Wolfram away? Noah would never stand for that. And it's not like he'd ever ask Noah to choose between himself and Wolfram.

'_Not that he'd choose Wolfram over me anyway,'_ he seeks to assure himself as he sheds his clothes for a well-needed shower.

As the hot water pulses all over him, he's unable to chase the images from his brain of why Noah would be half dressed and lying next to Wolfram. What were they doing before they fell asleep?

By the time he's dried off and slid his pajama-clad form under the covers, next to his completely nude lover's still slumbering form, he's even more concerned about Wolfram and Noah's relationship.

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The following afternoon finds Mokuba approaching Noah in his home office.

"I guess I've put this off long enough," he admits to his boyfriend. "So, can we talk?"

Noah nods in affirmation and moves to sit on the plush leather couch.

Mokuba takes his usual place at Noah's side, head in the CEO's lap.

"So you used Wolf for fun and to make your father mad?" Mokuba prods.

"I thought he'd have a heart attack the day he found us on the couch in my office. Served him right though. After all, a locked door usually means 'Do not enter'."

"Slumlord here did on a dare," Yuuri offers helpfully from the doorway, causing both Noah and Mokuba to jump in fright.

"Damn it, Yuuri! Can't we get a moment's privacy?" Noah yells at the grinning brunet. "And what did I tell you about just waltzing in here without knocking? Just because Aya-chan has a standing order to let you into the house doesn't mean you can wander about as you please!"

"Don't stress so much, junior," Yuuri grins. "I'd have left if you were getting busy."

"That's not the point," Noah grumbles.

"Hey, it's your fault! Not only was the door not locked, but it was sitting wide open! Who am I to pass up an invitation like that? Besides, all of your drawing things out and hesitating is just upsetting him more. We just moved the guy in so we can't allow you to chase him out," the brunet explains, hopping up onto the edge of Noah's desk.

"I'm not upset," Mokuba challenges.

Noah snaps at Yuuri for being an insensitive jerk before grumbling that he wasn't the one drawing things out.

"Yes you are," Yuuri frowns at Mokuba matter-of-factly, completely ignoring Noah's outburst. "But you won't be once you hear the whole story."

Hopping off the desk, he grabs Mokuba's and Noah's hands, pulling them into the entertainment room where a pensive Wolfram waits on the spacious couch.

"Okay, sit!" he commands to the two bewildered lovers. "And I'll explain everything."

Flopping down beside Wolfram, Noah seats Mokuba beside him, grasping his lover's hand firmly.

"A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away," Yuuri begins as he slides into his favorite recliner across from his friends.

"Not funny, Yuu," Wolfram frowns.

Yuuri offers him an apologetic smile before turning back to Noah and Mokuba.

"Wolf finally told me last week what's been going on with you two," Yuuri sighs deeply. "Mokuba, he was worried that he'd given you the wrong idea about his relationship with Noe. I was trying give you guys time to work it out, but…"

"Noah explained it to me," Mokuba interrupts.

"I'm sure he didn't," Yuuri scoffs, glancing at Noah for approval before continuing.

"What does that mean?" Mokuba glowers. Just out of Mokuba's line of sight, Noah nods to Yuuri in approval.

"Noe was a bit…wild before his dad kicked the bucket," Yuuri informs Mokuba. "Wolf was one of several arms where he sought refuge from dealing with the constant emotional, psychological and sometimes physical battering by Gozaboro Kaiba."

Mokuba turns his shocked face to Noah's emotionless one for confirmation. At the other's slight nod, he finds himself fighting back an angry string of curses. Sure, he'd known that Noah's life hadn't been a bed of roses, but he'd never imagined…

"My father was determined that I not become a sniveling weakling," Noah explains. "To that end, he trained me, tested me, pushed me to excel."

He shudders in remembrance of some of his father's more stringent methods of training. Mokuba squeezes his hand tightly and Noah smiles weakly at him, knowing that what he's about to reveal will probably hasten the decline of their relationship.

"My relationship with Wolf was always very casual; we both knew that. And honestly, the tongue ring was done on a dare. But I did like having it, and found it very pleasurable, so…" Noah trails off, a far away look on his face.

Yuuri and Wolfram's eyes widen in alarm as they suddenly realize that their friend is about to reveal much more than just the history of his tongue ring.

"Um, Noe…Maybe we should go," Yuuri suggests.

"No. I want you to stay," Noah exhales shakily. "You both already know most of it so…" he trails off again, swallowing a lump of apprehension.

Yes, Wolfram and Yuuri knew the bulk of his history, but he'd been more than a few sheets to the wind when he'd told them. Could he sit here completely sober and tell his story to the person he loves most in the world?

A tender kiss across the knuckles of his clutched right hand and an encouraging smile from Mokuba give him the strength to continue.

"My mother died just before I turned five," he begins. "And while my father had been painfully less than affectionate afterward, he didn't become the brutal bastard I remember most until much later.

"I was 10 the first time he used the collar and chain," Noah imparts in a detached monotone. "I'd failed to get 100 percent on a physics exam given by my tutor. My father put the chain and collar on me and chained me to the desk where I took my lessons. For hours he drilled me relentlessly and if I got anything wrong, he'd hit me with a riding crop; not enough to scar, but just enough to inflict pain.

"At the time, I counted that to be the worst day of my life. It didn't take long for me to realize that I'd been very, very wrong. The riding crop, collar and chain were only three of the instruments at his disposal."

"Noah…" Mokuba intones as he tries to pull Noah into his lap.

Instead of accepting the offered comfort, the despondent CEO releases Mokuba's hand and pulls further away. When his raven-haired lover reaches for him again, Noah gets up from the couch and moves to stand at the window on the right side of the room. He understands Mokuba's intention, but he's not sure that he'll be able to tell his story while in Mokuba's embrace.

"I think I almost preferred them and his other physical forms of motivation to his words," he continues in a detached tone as he stares, unseeing, out the window. "The wounds to my flesh healed fairly quickly since he never wanted to leave evidence of their existence. Those other wounds…"

He trails off, closing his eyes at the still present pain of remembered insults and character destroying comments from Gozaboro. It's been almost three years since he allowed himself to relive those traumas. And he's never done so sober. But he wants Mokuba to understand why he sought physical comfort from strangers; why he tried so hard to escape his awful reality anyway he could.

Clenching his fists and closing his eyes, Noah steels himself for what he's about to reveal; the secret he's held even from Yuuri and Wolfram.

Mokuba frowns in worry as he watches his beloved re-live whatever horrors occurred in his childhood. His and Seto's parents had been loving and generous. He couldn't conceive of a father treating his son so badly. All he'd wanted was the rest of the story about Wolfram's tongue ring and his boyfriend's involvement with the tall blonde. He never intended for Noah to suffer through such painful memories.

On the couch near Mokuba, Wolfram locks his eyes on Noah's rigid form. He's never seen Noah like this before and expects that there's more to come from his former lover and long-time friend. For his part, Yuuri finds himself attempting to quell his sense of dread as Noah unclenches his fists and glances warily in their direction. Looking to garner some comfort of his own, Yuuri moves to sit next to the blonde, grasping the other's hand tightly.

"I was almost 14 the first time I did it," the CEO confesses quietly, drawing the others from their own contemplations. "I just picked up some guy off the street and we went to a love hotel. We were together, off and on, for a few weeks until I found someone else. None of them ever really meant anything to me; they were just a way for me to escape. A way for me to feel like I was worth more than a higher score on a test or better understanding of business rules and regulations.

"By the time I was 15, I'd figured a way to rent an apartment under an assumed name and I'd take the men there. My father had no idea what I was doing since I kept improving in my studies and never gave him a reason to doubt me when I'd say that I was going for extra tutoring. Most of my tutors were just as brutal as my father, if not more so, though I know they only acted on my father's orders. He'd only ever be the one to use the collar, chain and riding crop on me, but there were other things…" he trails off with a shudder.

Part of Mokuba is glad that Noah trusts him with such knowledge, but mostly he's sickened by what Noah continues to reveal about the treatment he received at the hands of his own father and his father's agents.

And he'd known that Noah was more experienced, but…wow! Could he handle knowing that Noah probably had even more lovers than he'd imagined? That he'd basically resorted to prostituting himself just to get some form of positive human contact? And to have started doing that at 13…Mokuba looks away from his lover, shaking his head in disbelief. At 13 he'd still been following Seto around as though the sun rose and set in his brother's smile.

Abruptly, he realizes why Noah hadn't understood his and Seto's closeness at first; his boyfriend's view of "family" had been destroyed at a very early age.

"You don't have to talk about this, Noah," Mokuba interrupts, hoping that he sounds more supportive than overwhelmed by everything he's hearing.

"To make sure that no scars remained," Noah continues in a monotone, as if Mokuba hadn't spoken, "Amasaki, my tutor, would hit me with a rod just thin enough that the welt would heal in a few days. My father was not always so careful; probably because he tended to use his fists more than anything else. When that happened, I wouldn't be able to venture out to my apartment, so I just endured their non-physical berating until I healed."

"That's enough, Noe!" Wolfram interjects, forcefully. "Stop reliving those horrors! It's not doing you any good and it's freaking Mokuba out!"

"Not just Mokuba," Yuuri whispers from the safety of the blonde's arms.

Yuuri had known about the canings by the tutor. And he'd known about the abuse from Noah's father, but he'd thought it had all occurred when Noah was a teenager. But to know that his friend had suffered so much even as a child; that he'd taken to prostituting himself for relief… It makes him want to throw up every meal he's had for the past week!

Grabbing his courage with both hands, and squashing the urge to turn away from his badly damaged, distraught lover, Mokuba steps behind Noah and shakily slides his arms around the other's waist.

"It's okay, Noah. You don't have to say anymore," he tries to soothe, despite the unsteady quality of his voice and the fact that Noah barely acknowledges his presence. As much as Mokuba's struggling to come to terms with all he's learned, Noah needs him now. He won't desert him.

Even though Mokuba is holding him, Noah can feel the fine tremors running through his boyfriend's body.

'_It's too much for him to handle,'_ Noah agonizes_. 'He's just too young to cope with this, no matter what he says.'_

"We're going to go now, Noe," Wolfram intones.

"O-of course," Noah stammers. "I understand that you don't want to be around me right now."

"It's not that!" Yuuri corrects. "We just thought that you'd want to work things out with Mokuba without us getting in the way."

"Right, I understand," Noah replies dejectedly, not looking away from the window.

He shouldn't have told them. He should have just told Mokuba about the tongue ring and his relationship with Wolfram and kept those other horrors to himself. Now they'll all see him differently; treat him differently.

He's ruined everything.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.

**Chapter 4 - Take Me Higher**

Seto has already unpacked all but two boxes; one labled 'Yami - Shirts and Accessories 5,' which Seto himself packed, so it also has a list of contents on its top, and one labled 'Yami - Misc. Paper,' written in his lover's creatively illegible scrawl. Unfortunately, 'Yami - Misc. Paper' is all the description written on the top of the second box, so he'll have to actually open it to know its contents.

"Yami, why are we still unpacking your boxes two months later?" he yells up to the artist, who's ensconced once again in his beloved studio.

"Maybe because I'm so much more important than you!" Yami yells back.

Seto shakes his head and continues to open the box of 'Misc. Paper.'

Ever since the success of his gallery showing in Tokyo, Yami has been extremely busy, often flying all over Japan to meet with gallery owners, potential buyers for his works, and people requesting special commissions. Sometimes Seto goes with him, but most of the time Yami jets about everywhere on his own.

Seto frowns a little, remembering how hard it had been those first few times to wake up without Yami beside him. He hates to admit that his first thought wasn't that Yami was on a planned trip.

Sometimes it still isn't. It galls him that he still can't trust Yami to come home, but he does his best to keep that worry to himself. Seeing Yami so happy all the time is like falling in love with him all over again.

"What the…?"

It's not the bundle of letters that surprises him, but the name over the return address; Yugi Motou. Taking a closer look at the letters he's a little disappointed to see that they're all unopened. Was Yami so angry with his little brother that he didn't even want to read his letters? Checking the date stamp over the postage he realizes that they're all at least three years old and that they're all addressed to Yami's old dorm.

"Maybe he'd just bundled them up to read later once he'd calmed down and then couldn't find them," he murmurs to himself.

After all, the only reason Seto found them was because he was unpacking the last of their boxes; not to mention that the letters were stuffed underneath three reams of notebook paper and a binder.

Seto sits down on the sofa and really thinks about what's now circulating in his head; reuniting the estranged brothers.

The brunet has seen the yearning in Yami's eyes whenever he and Mokuba are bonding; he knows that Yami misses his little brother terribly.

"Maybe he just doesn't know what to say," Seto supposes. "Then I guess I'll have to say it for him."

Deciding to follow through with his idea, he picks up the phone and calls his brother's house; glad that it's the CEO who answers the phone.

"Noah, this is Seto. I need a favor," he smiles.

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Yami eyes the small box suspiciously. Searching his memory, he tries to figure out a reason the tall brunet would be gracing him with a gift.

It wasn't his birthday, his last gallery opening had been a few weeks ago, and he hasn't done anything else remotely important enough in their personal life for Seto to be rewarding him…

"Seto, what's this?"

"You'll see," the other evades.

Yami lifts the lid to find two gold lockets on thin chains; one a rectangle, the other a triangle. Surprised and now thoroughly confused, he tries again to come up with a reason for the other's actions.

It's not their anniversary; they haven't mutually done anything remotely important enough in their personal life for gifts to be exchanged…

At a loss, Yami looks questioningly at the brunet.

Seto places the triangular locket around Yami's neck before dropping the other around his own.

He hadn't actually meant to buy the lockets that day. Yami was out of town, and he'd had a bad night and early morning without him. The jewelry store was one he'd passed a thousand times on his way to work.

On his way back from a client's office that afternoon, he'd seen the lockets in the window as they'd glinted in the sun. For some reason, they'd reminded Seto of he and Yami and he'd bought them on the spot.

Sharing them with Yami at the conclusion of this trip, the one that had inspired their purchase in the first place, seemed appropriate.

"Open it," Seto urges.

Deciding to just accept the gift on its face and not worry about why it was being offered, Yami grins wide, feeling like a kid in a candy store. He loves surprises!

Popping open the locket, he finds a recent candid photo of he and Seto smiling at each other. Eyes misting with emotion, he smiles even wider when Seto opens his own locket to reveal the same picture.

But his face wrinkles in a frown when he sees that Seto also has a picture of Mokuba and Noah in his locket.

"Seto, why don't I have that picture, too?" he pouts.

"Don't pout, Yami. I just thought that you'd want to choose the other picture yourself," Seto demurs, leaning down to kisses him lightly.

"You're always so thoughtful, Seto," Yami beams.

"Hmm. Right now I'm thinking that I haven't spent anytime with you since you got back yesterday," the brunet smirks.

"Is that so? Well, maybe I could fit you into my very busy schedule," Yami teases, sliding his arms around the taller man's neck.

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Yami lightly fingers his locket as he chats with Seto on the phone. The unexpected gift had lightened his heart about having to be away from his lover for such a long time.

"Yami, let's have a dinner party when you get back," Seto suggests amicably. "We haven't seen Noah and Mokuba in over a month."

Yami's plane had landed in Singapore a little over two hours ago. This five-day stint will be the last leg of a nineteen-day trip arranged by Mr. Tanaka. The gallery owner apparently has even more friends in high places than Mr. Crawford, and seems to delight in showing Yami off to each and every one of them.

Yami sighs to himself in memory and regret.

As much as he loves his freedom, he really misses his mentor. If he didn't think it would upset Seto, he'd invite him to the dinner party his lover is planning. Still, it's been almost six months. Maybe…

No, he can't even ask such a thing of Seto. Not after the pain Mr. Crawford inflicted; on both of them.

"Can I think about it when I get back?" Yami yawns.

"Sure," Seto replies. "You sound tired. I'll let you sleep if you promise to call me when you wake up."

"I will. Talk to you soon."

"Get some rest until then. Goodnight, Yami."

"'Night, Seto."

He hangs up the phone, snuggles under the covers of his king-sized hotel bed and drifts off to sleep.

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Seto paces worriedly as the time for the dinner guests to arrive gets closer.

He'd originally planned to cook himself, but worried that, in his preoccupation, he'd mess up the food, or spill something, or cause some other disaster.

"Thank Kami for Noah," he whispers to himself.

Not only was the generous CEO flying in the surprise guests with his own money, but he'd recommended, and is paying for, the catering company that's cooked dinner for them tonight.

"Seto, why are you so nervous?" Yami stops him in mid-stride by grabbing his hand. "You've been like this for the past few days. What's wrong? It's just our friends and family. What are you so worked up about?"

Seto takes a deep breath and tries to calm down.

"You're right, Yami. It's just our friends and family. Everything will be fine," he agrees.

Just then the doorbell rings announcing their first guest.

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"Hey! What's with the fru-fru food?" Yuuri tilts his head toward the small array of catered delicacies laid out on the dining room table, his blue jeans and t-shirt clad frame casually flopping down on the spacious living room couch.

"Yuuri…" Wolfram groans.

"Seriously, though, Seto," an equally casually dressed Mokuba chimes in, "You said we were just getting together to celebrate your unpacking the last box. Not that we had to dress up for a real dinner and actual guests."

"You should always dress appropriately, Mokuba," Noah admonishes lightly, brushing invisible lint from his business casual attire.

"Leather pants," Mokuba coughs, discretely reminding the CEO of his choice of attire at their first outing together, the Aucifer reunion concert.

"That was entirely appropriate for the occasion," Noah asserts, earning snickers of amusement from all assembled.

"Right, if you say so," Mokuba grins before plopping down on the loveseat beside his boyfriend.

Their playful banter notwithstanding, Noah and Mokuba discreetly share a knowing look. They could tell Yuuri why the dinner was being catered, but they didn't want Yami to find out.

"Sooo, are you gonna tell us why the fru-fru food?" Yuuri presses, ignoring Wolfram's attempts to quiet him. "Are we expecting a VIP?"

"I simply did not wish to cook and Noah knew an excellent caterer," Seto deflects.

"Uh huh," Yuuri acknowledges, his raised eyebrow suggesting that he thinks there's more to the brunet's explanation.

"You can always go home and then you don't have to eat the 'fru-fru' food," Yami intones.

Mokuba, Noah and Wolfram immediately fall out laughing.

"And on that note, I will shut the hell up," Yuuri remarks, reaching for one of the delicious looking canapés.

Seto and Yami chat with Noah, Yuuri and Wolfram about various subjects in between bites of delicious starters and sips of light wine.

As the time for the hors devours winds to a close and the special guests have yet to arrive, Seto starts feeling completely let down. He thinks he's hidden it well as he talks with everyone, since neither Yami nor Mokuba have said anything or given him odd looks.

They've just sat down to eat when the doorbell rings again.

"As the host, I'll get it," Seto nods to the group, certain that his special guests have finally arrived.

Opening the front door, he politely greets the flushed, shorter version of Yami with violet eyes, who's holding a giggling, even smaller version of Yami with sparkling blue eyes. A slender, blue-eyed brunet with a protruding belly stands beside them.

"I'm so, so sorry that we're late," the brunet gushes. "But Atemu was such a handful tonight and this little one to be forced us to stop on the way here from the hotel," she pats her belly. "I hope we haven't missed everything!"

"Nonsense! You're right on-time for dinner. I'm Seto Watanabe, Yami's life partner. Welcome to our home," Seto bows.

"Thank you, Mr. Watanabe," Anzu beams, bowing as much as her stomach will allow. "It's nice to put a face to the voice."

"I agree," Seto nods.

"I am glad to meet you, too, Mr. Watenabe," Yugi echoes, his bow abbreviated by the toddler in his arms.

Seto wonders if the smaller man is going to make it past the introductions since he looks like he's about to pass out.

"Daddy hurt! Too tight!" the squirming bundle in Yugi's arms exclaims.

"Sorry, 'Temu," Yugi stammers, loosening his grip on his son.

"Here, I'll take him," Seto offers, taking the eager toddler. "You just worry about your lovely wife."

"Th-Thank you," the violet-eyed man stutters, taking his wife's hand.

When Seto had initially contacted the couple about reconciliation between the brothers, the brunet, Anzu, had been the reluctant one. By contrast, he and Yugi had spoken at length about how much Yugi wanted to see his brother again. They had even e-mailed and texted each other about the travel arrangements for Yugi and family's trip back to Japan. Knowing that, Seto is quite surprised by Yugi's current state.

As they walk down the front hall, Seto hears Yugi murmuring, "I can't do this. This is a bad idea. I can't do this." He isn't able to hear the wife's reply as the bright-eyed toddler starts singing something nonsensical in his ear.

"The last of our guests have made it," Seto smiles as he steps into the dining room.

Yuuri and Wolfram offer polite bows and more formal greetings to the new arrivals. Mokuba and Noah's slightly more familiar bows are topped with delighted smiles.

Yami misses all of them as he jumps up from the table in shock, his chair scraping behind him.

He and Yami stare silently at each other for a full minute before Yugi looks down and away. He hadn't expected his brother to welcome him with open arms, but that silent, crimson stare upsets him much more than he'd expected.

"S-sorry, Yami. I'm so sorry. Please…please forgive me," Yugi chokes.

Yugi stands next to Seto and tries to calm down. The last time he and his brother had seen each other, nearly 8 years ago, Yugi had said – yelled – such awful things at Yami. Things he still couldn't forgive himself for...

Head down, silent tears begin coursing down his face as his wife squeezes his hand for support.

Steadying the toddler in his arms, Seto looks away from the stricken Yugi toward Yami's deer-in-the-headlights stance. He's certain that Yami will push past his hurt feelings and welcome Yugi back into his life.

But when another few moments pass and the only result is Yami closing his eyes, still without speaking to his brother, Seto isn't sure what to think. Beside the brunet, the weeping man in question composes himself somewhat and reaches for his son still in Seto's arms.

"Sorry for ruining your party," Yugi chokes. "We'll be going now."

Anzu threads her arms through Yugi's free one and leans against him.

"Don't be sad, daddy. Don't be sad. We love you," Atemu soothes, petting his father's head as the family walks away.

Seto's stunned disappointment at Yami's lack of action swiftly turns to anger.

"After all this time, you can't even speak to him?" Seto snarls. He turns and storms into his library, slamming the door behind him.

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Yami can't believe his eyes. Yugi! His brother Yugi is here? How? They haven't spoken in…He never even opened the letters!

How did he get here?

Tearing his eyes away from his weeping little brother, he sees an equally upset and obviously pregnant Anzu holding Yugi's hand as though she's afraid he'll run away. And in Seto's arms is a wide-eyed little boy, the spitting image of his brother with Anzu's blue eyes.

Seto…Seto must have done this for him.

'_How much must he love me to do this?'_ he thinks, eyes misting in appreciation before he closes them in an effort to compose himself. Looking up a few moments later, he turns to capture Seto's eyes in gratitude, only to find them blazing in anger.

'_Why is he so mad,'_ he frowns to himself.

Before Yami can voice his inquiry, Seto snaps, "After all this time, you can't even speak to him?" and then turns and slams into the library.

Turning away from where Seto has gone, Yami means to tell his brother to wait until he brings the other back out of the library, only to catch his brother's back as he leads his growing family out of the room.

No! He can't lose Yugi again!

"W-wait," he stammers, beginning to panic.

Momentarily torn, he isn't sure if he should calm Seto down first or go after his brother. Mokuba intercepts him as he's heading toward the library.

"I'll talk to Seto. Your brother needs you now," he smiles at Yami.

A sincere smile and "thank you" precedes Yami's run down the front hall after his brother.

He finds Yugi out front helping Anzu into one of Noah's limousines. Knowing that his extended new family also had a hand in the reunion with his brother makes Yami even happier.

Yugi has just sat his son down inside the car when Yami joyfully tackles his brother to the ground.

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After watching Yami happily lead his brother's family back into the dining room, Mokuba slips into Seto's library to find his sibling sitting angrily in the corner of the sofa. He sits down beside him, leaning his head on Seto's shoulder.

"That was a really awesome thing you did, big brother," Mokuba admires.

"Not that it matters," Seto snarls. "I can believe Yami just stood there!"

"He was in shock, Seto. Cut him some slack. Besides, it all worked out in the end," he smiles knowingly.

"What do you mean?"

A light knock interrupts them.

"Come in," Seto calls.

He is stunned when Anzu pokes her head in the door.

"Um, I don't mean to intrude, but dinner's getting cold. Aren't you joining us?" She inquires sincerely.

Blinking at her in surprise, Seto is pleased to know that his plan actually worked. Now Yami could truly be happy. A light nudge from Mokuba reminds him that he's staring at Yugi's wife, but has yet to reply to her.

"Yes, we'll be right there," Seto nods politely.

"Okay! I'll let everyone know!" She beams, closing the door.

"See, I told you that everything worked out," Mokuba grins.

"I don't understand. When I left, Yami was still standing there," Seto notes.

"Let's talk about it over dinner, I'm starved," Mokuba urges.

The moment Seto steps into the dining room, Yami jumps him, smothering his face with kisses before engulfing him in fiery kiss after fiery kiss. The tall brunet stumbles a bit before they both fall to the floor.

"Hey! Hey! Children in the room!" Yuuri calls out; his interruption causing them to pull slightly away from each other.

"You're welcome," Seto pants against Yami's lips, before pulling them both up from the floor and straightening their clothes.

"Seto, how can I ever repay…" Yami chokes.

"Never leaver me," he replies seriously.

"How can I?" Yami smiles through misty eyes.

"I know, the sex is too good," Seto grins before kissing Yami soundly.

"Hell-ooo! Children!" Yuuri calls out again, earning a round of laughter from all assembled.


End file.
